Groningen horse

The Groningen Horse is a Dutch horse breed developed for light draft and agricultural work. It is closely related to heavy warmblood breeds like the East Friesian and Alt-Oldenburger. The breed was nearly lost in the mid-20th century because a significant number of mares were used for crossbreeding to create the Dutch Warmblood, leaving few purebreds.

History

Foundation

The Groningen shares much of its initial foundation with the Friesian, East Friesian and Alt-Oldenburger, and Holsteiner: small native farm horses and medieval destriers were influenced by popular Spanish, Neapolitan, and Arabian horses in the 17th and 18th centuries. Horses like England's Cleveland Bay were also utilized, producing a horse that was tall by the standards of the day, as well as reasonably elegant with deep, wide haunches and a thick, high-set neck.

Although selection procedures had been in use for many years, the first Dutch horse registries weren't founded until the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The North-Netherlands Warmblood Horse Studbook, or NWP, regulated horse breeding in Groningen, Friesland, and Drenthe, while the NSTg did the same for the southern regions, including Gelderland. The goals of the registries were characterized by distinct differences in the soil composition: Groningen had heavy, wet, clay soil and needed a particularly stout horse to till it, while the soil in Gelderland was sandier.

Groningen

Groningen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣroːnɪŋə(n)]; Gronings: Grunnen; West Frisian: Grins) is the main municipality as well as the capital city of the eponymous province in the Netherlands. With a population of 197,823 (in 2014), it is the largest city in the north of the Netherlands. An old city, Groningen was the regional power of the northern Netherlands, a semi-independent city-state and member of the German Hanseatic League. Groningen is a university city: it houses the University of Groningen (about 28,000 students) and the Hanze University of Applied Sciences (about 25,000 students).

History

The city was founded on the northernmost point of the Hondsrug area. The oldest document referring to Groningen's existence dates from 1040. However, the city already existed long before then: the oldest archaeological traces found are believed to stem from the years 3950–3720 BC, although the first major settlement in Groningen has been traced back to the 3rd century AD.

In the 13th century, when Groningen was an important trade centre, its inhabitants built a city wall to underline its authority. The city had a strong influence on the surrounding lands and made its dialect a common tongue. The most influential period of the city was the end of the 15th century, when the nearby province of Friesland was administered from Groningen. During these years, the Martinitoren was built, which loomed over the city at (then) 127 metres tall.The city's independence came to an end when in 1536, it chose to accept Emperor Charles V, the Habsburg ruler of the other Netherlands, as its overlord. It later joined the Republic of the Seven United Provinces.

Groningen (province)

Groningen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣroːnɪŋə(n)]; Gronings: Grönnen or Grunn; West Frisian: Grinslân) is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. It borders on Friesland to the west, Drenthe to the south, the German state of Niedersachsen (districts of Leer and Emsland) to the east, and the Wadden Sea to the north. In 2014, it had a population of 582,640 and a total area of 2,960 km² (1,140 sq mi).

The area was subsequently part of Frisia, the Frankish Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Dutch Republic, which is the precursor state of the Netherlands. In the 14th century, the city of Groningen became a member of the Hanseatic League.

The capital of the province and the seat of the provincial government is the city of Groningen. Since 2007, Max van den Berg is the King's Commissioner in the province. A coalition of the Labour Party, People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, Democrats 66, and ChristianUnion forms the executive branch. The province is divided into 23 municipalities.

Groningen, Suriname

Groningen is the capital town of the Saramacca District, Suriname.

Groningen only began to grow after 1960. Around that time the East-West Corridor, a road linking Albina via Paramaribo to Nieuw Nickerie was built. This let Groningen become accessible by road.

The town features: an office of the district commissioner; a post office; an office for the police commander, an office of the State Sick Fund (SZF) and the Eliazer Jaques football stadium, named after the founder of the Football Federation of Saramacca and president. There is also a Moravian Church and a Roman Catholic Church.

Until 1990, Groningen maintained a nursing home for yaws sufferers. In that year it was closed after it was discovered that the disease could be cured within days by applying Salvarsan.

History

A pentagonal fort was built on this site in 1790, which was named by Governor Jan Gerhard Wichers, after his birthplace in Groningen, Groningen. Across the river was a leper colony by the name of Voorzorg, meaning 'Welfare'. Fort Groningen was part of a cordon of forts. However the fort itself had only a few plantations and therefore was not very developed. There were plans to expand the fort and build a town that would be called Columbia, however not much more than the fort itself, a few blocks, a cemetery and a 1830s Moravian Church was ever built. During his time as a soldier in Suriname (1836-1842) August Kappler described the area, and notes about Groningen that "besides the main point and houses, one searches in vain."